The present invention is directed to a holder and dispenser for blades and more particularly to a utility knife blade holder and dispenser which employs a looped rubber band to bias the blades toward the dispenser opening.
In industry, as well as many household activities such as hobbies and crafts, replaceable blades are employed for a wide variety of tasks. For example, replaceable utility knife blades are used in cutting carpeting, cardboard, dry wall sheets, plastic and other materials. The blades dull quickly and must be replaced often to provide a sharp cutting edge. Replacement blades, having a highly sharpened cutting edge are dangerous to handle. A holder and dispenser which ejects a single blade at a time is desirable to both protect the edge on the blades and minimize handling of the blades. A typical utility knife blade is a metal, trapezoidal shaped blade with the longest edge the cutting edge and including notches on the shorter back of the blade. Other blade configurations such as single-edged razor blades and utility blades with a hook-shaped cutting edge are known.
Holders and dispensers for such blades are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,827,597 and 3,542,245 disclose utility knife blade dispensers which use springs to bias the blades toward a dispenser which pivots in the plane of the blades to be dispensed to expose a blade. U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,433 discloses a blade dispenser in which a cover slides over a blade supporting base to hold the blades in a position to be dispensed by sliding through an aperture in the cover. U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,514 discloses a blade holder and dispenser which uses a manual, ratcheting, sliding follower to hold blades in position against a thumb slot which allows blades to be pushed through a dispensing opening. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,083; 2,641,358 and 1,908,115 disclose holders for razor blades which include springs to bias the blades toward a dispensing opening through which the blades are pushed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a blade holder and dispenser which employs a rubber band to bias blades toward a dispensing opening.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blade holder and dispenser which employs a rubber band formed into a double loop configuration to bias blades toward a dispensing opening.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blade holder and dispenser which orients a double looped rubber band in slots to protect the looped rubber band from the cutting edge of the blades to be dispensed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blade holder and dispenser which protects the user from the sharp edge of the blade during blade dispensing.